Recent Posts

I’m honoured to have been asked to display work from my recent ‘Home’ project as part of the upcoming Document Film Festival, the international human rights documentary film festival which is running in Glasgow for its 12th year, and based at the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts) in Glasgow. My images will be on display in the Saramago Bar, upstairs in the CCA, from 5pm on Thursday 9th October, until the end of the festival on Sunday 12th October.

The weekend is filled with loads of brilliant documentaries on all sorts of human rights issues, so make sure to check some of them out!

Working with people who have moved to Scotland from elsewhere, I have undertaken a research-based photographic exploration of the concept of home. The participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and from a variety of countries including Peru, Afghanistan, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, the USA and Somalia. With so much negative media attention surrounding the issue of immigration, not only in the UK but also around the world, this project is an attempt to counteract this harmful rhetoric and celebrate the diversity that immigration creates. While the objects photographed are specific to individuals, the body of work as a whole demonstrates the universality of some of the main indicators of home, with family, friendship and culture at the forefront. While the specifics may change, there is a commonality in the things that we as human beings hold dear.

Work from my most recent project, ‘Home’ is showing in two upcoming exhibitions. The first is my degree show, along with 7 other graduating photographers from my year. Meraki runs from Tuesday 27th May until Friday 30th May 2014 at Wasps Artists Studios in Hanson Street, Dennistoun, Glasgow. Please join us for the preview on 27th May from 6-8pm.

The second exhibition is my first solo show, and is running as part of the schedule for Refugee Week Scotland 2014 at The Arches, Glasgow. It may be listed in some publications under an alternative name, ‘What Home Means’. There is a preview event on Thursday 5th June from 6-8pm:

Working with people who have moved to Scotland from elsewhere, I have undertaken a research-based photographic exploration of the concept of home. The participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and from a variety of countries including Peru, Afghanistan, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, the USA and Somalia. With so much negative media attention surrounding the issue of immigration, not only in the UK but also around the world, this project is an attempt to counteract this harmful rhetoric and celebrate the diversity that immigration creates. While the objects photographed are specific to individuals, the body of work as a whole demonstrates the universality of some of the main indicators of home, with family, friendship and culture at the forefront. While the specifics may change, there is a commonality in the things that we as human beings hold dear.

Working with people who have moved to Scotland from elsewhere, I have undertaken a research-based photographic exploration of the concept of home. The participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and from a variety of countries including Peru, Afghanistan, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, the USA and Somalia. With so much negative media attention surrounding the issue of immigration, not only in the UK but also around the world, this project is an attempt to counteract this harmful rhetoric and celebrate the diversity that immigration creates. While the objects photographed are specific to individuals, the body of work as a whole demonstrates the universality of some of the main indicators of home, with family, friendship and culture at the forefront. While the specifics may change, there is a commonality in the things that we as human beings hold dear.

This project was conceived for my main Creative Project for the Honours year of my degree in Photography. I chose to focus on some of the areas that interest me most – home, people’s relationship with space and their environment, equality and social anthropology. Although at times very challenging, this project has been interesting, fulfilling and enjoyable to work on. Given that the work was carried out for my Honours year project, the timescale was rather small in comparison to how long I would ideally have liked to have had to complete it. Following the initial group research I carried out, I had time to complete the process of interviewing and photographing portraits and the homes of seven participants. This project is something that I feel could be continued in the future, given the time and opportunity to meet with more immigrants to Scotland. It would also be interesting to work with people who are not immigrants, to see how things compare. Not coming from a background in research myself, it would also be really interesting to work with a researcher on a joint project, either continuing this one or doing something new but in a similar vein.

In terms of inspiration for this project, my two main influences were James Mollison and Rineke Dijkstra. James Mollison’s series ‘Where Children Sleep’ was particularly of interest to me:

Copyright James Mollison

(from artist’s website) “Where Children Sleep – stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms. When Fabrica asked me to come up with an idea for engaging with children’s rights, I found myself thinking about my bedroom: how significant it was during my childhood, and how it reflected what I had and who I was. It occurred to me that a way to address some of the complex situations and social issues affecting children would be to look at the bedrooms of children in all kinds of different circumstances. From the start, I didn’t want it just to be about ‘needy children’ in the developing world, but rather something more inclusive, about children from all types of situations. It seemed to make sense to photograph the children themselves, too, but separately from their bedrooms, using a neutral background. My thinking was that the bedroom pictures would be inscribed with the children’s material and cultural circumstances ‘ the details that inevitably mark people apart from each other ‘ while the children themselves would appear in the set of portraits as individuals, as equals ‘ just as children. This is a selection from the 56 diptychs in the book (Chris Boot November 2010). The book is written and presented for an audience of 9-13 year olds ‘ intended to interest and engage children in the details of the lives of other children around the world, and the social issues affecting them, while also being a serious photographic essay for an adult audience.”

I normally prefer to incorporate the environment into my portraits, but on this occasion I decided to work in the studio, partly as a challenge, and partly because I felt that this approach suited the project. Taking my inspiration from James Mollison’s use of a neutral background, I employed a similar approach in order to demonstrate the universal connections between all of us as human beings, while showing the differences through the images symbolising peoples’ sense of home. Of course, universal elements are evident in these symbolic images as well. My initial idea was to create diptychs or triptychs consisting of a portrait of each person and supporting images representing their sense home. However, due to the sensitive nature of the subject, and the fact that some participants were refugees or asylum seekers, it became clear that a degree of anonymity would be important. In order to do this, I chose not to include names or countries of origin, and additionally chose to display the images in a way which would not directly link each person to specific items.

A selection of portraits from the project

The images will be displayed by placing a montage of ‘home’ images between each portrait, with everything printed at A1 size to give maximum impact when viewed from a distance, as well as allowing people to examine the images up close and see all the details. The portraiture of Rineke Dijkstra has been influential on me in terms of both the physical scale of her work, and her approach to portraiture. I found a great quote from her recently from an interview about her approach in which she explains that she looks for a “sense of stillness and serenity” in a portrait that stands out from the others (from the book Image Makers, Image Takers by Anne-Celine Jaeger).

I’ve covered the BBC Introducing stage at T in the Park for the past 3 years, and it’s always a great stage to photograph. Great new bands, enthusiastic crowd, lovely people and freedom of access to get a range of photographic viewpoints make it a fantastic experience. Shooting every band on the stage over the weekend can be pretty non-stop, so it always flies past really quickly. I’ve selected some of my favourite images from the past 3 years for you to have a look at here.

These photos are from a while back, shot for the BBC for their website covering the World Pipe Band Championships in 2010 and 2011. The brief gave me the opportunity to shoot with a lot of creative freedom, which I really enjoyed. As you can see from the sample of some of my favourite images I’ve posted here, this included the pipe bands tuning up and performing, behind the scenes of making the television programme, people enjoying the event, and the odd animal or two in attendance!

Hope you enjoy looking at them, please remember that the copyright of these images is owned by the BBC, so don’t copy or use them without seeking consent from them first. Thanks!

I’ve been featured this month on Central Station’s My Process! It’s all about my recent project photographing men in typical female fashion poses. So if you like the images below and want to find out more about how and why I did it, ou can check it out here:

This work carries on from a project I began last semester at university, in which I photographed and interviewed women working in the creative industries in Scotland. The idea was to present these women as strong role models, with a view to encouraging girls and women to pursue similar careers. As part of the project, I carried out research into the gender equality, or lack of, prevalent in each specific industry.

With this progression of the project for the second semester, I took a slightly different path, and concentrated on women working in traditionally male-dominated roles, following the same process of background research, photography and interview. My aim for this project was to create work that questions the perception of what people see as appropriate roles for men and women, with a view to expanding the choice of career options open to women. In order to do this, I wanted to photograph women working in a wide variety of different occupations that are usually considered the domain of men, and are therefore areas in which fewer women are found. Due to time constraints, I only completed the process for 7 women, but it is certainly a project which could be continued. I would also love to photograph women working in the emergency services, mining and agriculture, to name a few. It would also be good to photograph men working in traditionally female roles (although there aren’t nearly as many traditionally female roles as male!).

I found that this time around, I got into more in-depth discussions around not only the issue of gender imbalance in the workplace, but also the perception of women in society. I’m delighted that all these women were so happy to take part in the project, and I’ve really enjoyed spending time with them and finding out more about what they do, as well as their personal opinions and experiences. I hope to carry on and create a whole documentary series.

This work forms the basis of a recently submitted university project, and an area I hope to continue exploring, focusing on women working within the creative industries in Scotland, all fantastically talented and succeeding in their respective careers. In a world where we increasingly have poor role models in the form of untalented, vacuous so called ‘celebrities’, I thought that it would be a good idea to look at the wonderfully creative positive role models that we do have.

Many thanks to all who helped me with this project, first and foremost the participants, but not forgetting the very helpful and accommodating people at the venues used for the shoots, in particular the Citizens Theatre, BBC Propworks, The Academy of Make Up, Chem19 Studios and The Forest Of Black.

Here’s a couple of photos from a shoot I recently did with the lovely Stephanie Gibson (assisted by my brilliant husband Richie :-)), as part of coursework for 3rd year of the photography BA I recently started. Yes, I’ve gone back to school! It’s giving me lots of inspiration and the opportunity to further refine my skills as a photographer.

Brilliant and very funny shoot with Jenny and Jill of Body Parts last week, before their show at the Glad Cafe in Shawlands, supporting Cate Le Bon. My first time in the Glad Cafe, and it’s a great wee place! Nice to have a decent alternative bar/venue on the south side, and Rachel and the rest of the staff were lovely. Big thanks to them for letting us do the shoot there! Here’s a few of my favourites.

I had the pleasure of photographing Vicky and John’s fantastic wedding at Glasgow University Memorial Chapel, and then Oran Mor in Glasgow. It was made all the better with the fact that Vicky is family, which meant I got to spend time with my lovely in-laws while I captured the special moments of Vicky & John’s big day.

This is just a handful of my favourite pics of the day, more to come!

Vicky’s very talented friend made the wedding cake!

This picture pretty much sums up Vicky and John – fun loving, loved up, great people!

Veronica & Andrew had a fabulous, vintage-inspired wedding at 29 Private Members Club, in the heart of Glasgow city centre, in Royal Exchange Square. They exchanged vows in May this year in this gorgeous boutique venue, which I have to say was magnificently co-ordinated by David Smith and his team. They were so helpful!

Both Veronica and Andrew looked great, and it was plain to see the effort they’d put in with the small details, to make it every inch their own day. The masks on the tables were fantastic (pictures below), as were the lego figures on the cake! As Veronica was getting ready at the venue, it was perfect for capturing some of the fun of the bridal preparations, as well as getting some shots of the excitement building downstairs, including a couple of portraits of Andrew and his best men.

The proceedings kicked off with the couple saying their “I do’s” at a personal and beautiful candle-lit Humanist ceremony infront of the grand fireplace in the spacious Supper Club. Although there was plenty of light coming in through the large windows, the candles added an intimate touch, giving off a nice warm glow.

After the ceremony, the wedding party headed downstairs for refreshments, and after a few group shots, we whisked the happy couple out into the square for some portraits.

We also had access to the Gallery of Modern Art, where we got some lovely shots on the balcony, and even managed to incorporate some artwork into our portrait session.

Adrian Wiszniewski’s Gentlemen’s Club (1990) made a great backdrop for a couple of portraits of Veronica & Andrew, which I shot with some dramatic side lighting.

We headed back upstairs where Veronica and Andrew relaxed with their guests for a while before dinner.

A marquee was set up for dinner on the amazing roof terrace, letting everyone make the most of the natural light during dinner. The table decor was fantastic, as was the cake!

Congratulations Veronica & Andrew, and thanks for choosing us to document your special day!

Natalie & Stephen were married at Doonbrae House, Brig O’Doon, in Ayrshire in March this year. The incredibly romantic setting, in the heart of Burns country, was always going to make for a fantastic day, and was a perfect choice for an intimate wedding. The couple made their vows in the front room of the beautiful late Georgian house, surrounded by close family and friends, before enjoying a champagne reception.

After everyone had refreshed themselves, we headed out to the beautiful grounds for some photos, starting with some group shots, then onto some lovely portraits of Natalie and Stephen, who were quite clearly enjoying their wonderful day. For March, we were lucky with the weather, as there were only a couple of showers earlier on in the day. As the wedding was mid afternoon, we had some nice low sun by the time we started the pictures.

These purple flowers outside made the perfect setting for a nice shot of Natalie’s pretty tulip bouquet.

We wrapped up just as the sun was setting, because as you may know, March in Scotland may be beautiful when the sun’s out, but once it goes down, it can get pretty cold!

So with everyone relaxing before dinner, I left them to continue their celebrations. Great wedding, lovely people. Congratulations Natalie and Stephen!

Just back from a very muddy weekend, shooting stills for the BBC’s Introducing stage at T in the Park – an epic 21 bands over 2 days! It was my second year doing it and I had a great time again. Brilliant line-up, including up and coming Scottish artists like United Fruit, Admiral Fallow, Fatherson, Vigo Thieves, Woodenbox and Laki Mera, as well as new artists from around the UK. Belfast’s More Than Conquerors and London’s Swami Baracus were a couple of good discoveries from outside Scotland.

A selection of pictures can be seen by clicking on the link below, and check out the videos too, there’s some great bands there!

When I’m covering a gig in King Tut’s, I also try to get a portrait or quick shot of the band backstage before the show. Sometimes I have a decent amount of time to do it in, other times I’ve got less than a minute! Here’s some of my favourites from the the past few months.

So here we go, the big catch up begins! It would take me forever to post everything I’ve been doing since July 2010, so I’m putting up a selection of my favourite images.

Over the past few months I’ve been working as in-house photographer for King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, working towards an exhibition later this year which I’m really looking forward to! So here’s some of my favourite images from Tut’s. I’ve really been enjoying the variety of different shows I get to shoot, and having a say in which ones I do each month is great too.

It’s only taken me 2 years (!) but I’ve finally found time to get my blog laid out the way I want it, which included understanding how on earth to do it.

I’ll be adding new pictures regularly now, so you can keep up with what I’ve been getting up to. I’ll put up a ‘best of 2010 – 2012’ for each of my photo categories, to get me caught up 😉 But that’s for tomorrow.

Desalvo rocked the tiny venue on Friday, leaving nobody in the audience unscathed! As usual, I found myself in the middle of it all, trying to get those winning shots! Shot of the night has to go to Fi and her kiss with P6.

Some shots from a couple of gigs I’ve been to in the past week, Brian Jonestown Massacre at the ABC, and Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster at Stereo. I’ve been a bit neglectful of my blog recently but plan to get back on track now! Lots of pictures to upload from the past wee while which I’ll get to soon.

Brian Jonestown Massacre

Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – one of those gigs where the crowd made the night!

The highly anticipated debut headline show from The Unwinding Hours at Stereo last month, with support from Olympic Swimmers and Holy Mountain. A brilliant night, the place was packed and the bands were great. Shot for Rock Sound.

Not posted much here for a while, need to keep it up! I’ve noticed something annoying with this blog actually, for some reason the images when posted here look less sharp and duller than they actually are, not sure what the way round this is, if anyone does, please shout out!

Emma Pollock played a belter of a show along with Australian Josh Pyke. They were on a joint headline tour of the UK.

Josh Pyke was on first, followed by Emma.

Great show, sound was amazing, and the band as well as Emma played tremendously.

I put up the Virgins Pukkelpop pictures a while back, but still had to put up the shots of other bands I got that day. The Jesus Lizard were amazing and I got a few shots of Richie with the band, much to his delight.

Album launch gig in the Winter Gardens of the People’s Palace – shot for Kerrang! Forgot to put this one up! Interesting choice of venue, and great guys, they put a lot of work into putting the gig together and didn’t disappoint the hordes of fans that turned up to see them play the intimate show.

Just came across these images from earlier this year, and thought I’d add them on here. Just a bit of experimenting with my flashguns at the time, back when I was using Canon gear. Some are natural light, some flash and some a mixture. She’s such a good model and a joy to photograph!